Tag Archives: thomas

Make some ‘outdoorsy friends’ — Gearhouse and its Basecamp Cafe are now open on Capitol Hill

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Evan Maynard’s Gearhouse commute just got a lot better

Its Basecamp Cafe is established on Capitol Hill’s E Thomas just off Broadway and Gearhouse is now ready to outfit you with the equipment you need for a Pacific Northwest weekend. It is celebrating with a grand opening Thursday night.

Come join us to celebrate as we launch a summer of adventure with Gearhouse. We’ll be making coffee drinks, pouring beers, and serving apps from our new cafe, Basecamp. Gearhouse and Basecamp Cafe is your third place for finding outdoorsy friends.

CHS reported here on Capitol Hill resident Evan Maynard’s plans to bring his growing outdoor gear rental and community company to his home neighborhood as Gearhouse marks its first expansion from its South Lake Union birthplace.

Now a short walk from the former Blue Origin rocket engineer’s Capitol Hill apartment, Maynard and his team hope to help new members turn “a chore into a social experience” with the 2,800-square-foot Gearhouse’s mix of rental equipment, organized hikes and outings, education, and its overhaul of a shuttered cafe/retail experiment from AT&T into the new Basecamp Cafe and hangout with caffeine and beer and plenty of space to bring your laptop. Badger Coffee is ready to serve members — and anybody else who wants to hang out or get some work done in the new cafe.

Its opening joins another in the neighborhood outdoor gear space. Need some outdoor fashion for your trip? Windthrow is newly opened with outdoor apparel and accessories just off 15th Ave E.

At Gearhouse, membership provides access to the gear library which can be rented piecemeal but can also be curated based on what adventure you have planned. Maynard says Gearhouse is set up to provide personalized recommendations and gear packages — describe an adventure you’re about to take, and they’ll recommend a gear set to suit your needs.

He says the model helps members have a better time exploring the outdoors and the sturdier, higher quality gear keeps people from churning through disposable alternatives that end up in the trash. Continue reading →

‘Seattle’s only social club for outdoorsy people,’ hiking and adventure equipment rental company Gearhouse setting up camp on Capitol Hill

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(Image: Gearhouse)

Evan Maynard (Image: Gearhouse)

It will be a short hike for the founder of Seattle outdoor gear rental and community startup Gearhouse to the company’s coming Capitol Hill expansion.

CHS has learned the three-year-old hiking, camping, and adventure gear and events community is planning an expansion to E Thomas just off Broadway in the former space where AT&T tested out a short-lived coffee and retail experiment.

The 2,800-square-foot space is being readied as a new outlet for the growing company that provides unlimited gear rental to members along with access to events, classes, and resources like repair, maps, and guidebooks. Permits also indicate the new Gearhouse will offer beer and wine.

“We want Gearhouse to be a place where you can get gear, knowledge and a friend base if you don’t have that network at work or in your apartment building,” founder Evan Maynard told the Seattle Times in 2021.

At the time, the former Blue Origin rocket engineer was growing the South Lake Union headquarters of Gearhouse after starting the business from his “overstuffed” Capitol Hill apartment and a van used in the beginning to deliver gear building to building and door to door, the Times reported. Continue reading →

Police investigate E Thomas stabbing — UPDATE

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A man suffered multiple stab wounds to his neck and back in an assault near 16th and Thomas early Saturday morning.

According to police and fire radio updates, the bleeding man went to the Kaiser Permanente emergency room across the street from the stabbing just after 1 AM. Seattle Fire crews were called to the facility to treat the 33-year-old victim and transport him to Harborview. We do not have additional information on his condition.

According to East Precinct radio updates, police identified the crime scene and found blood on the sidewalk at the 16th and Thomas bus stop.

Police are investigating.

UPDATE: Police say the man suffered 15 to 20 stab wounds in the attack and said the injuries were life-threatening. According to Seattle Fire, he was transported to Harborview in stable condition.

SPD says the man told officers he was attacked for an unknown reason by a stranger.

UPDATE x2: SPD has posted a description of the suspect:

The victim told officers someone approached him from behind at a bus stop in the area, struck him in the head, and repeatedly stabbed him. The victim described the suspect as a white male, 5’7, in his 30’s, with a thin build, short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a bright blue jacket and hat. If you have any information about this incident, please call the SPD Violent Crimes tip line at 206-233-5000.

 

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Seven-story development set to rise on 12th Ave Car Tender block faces design review

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The multimillion dollar driver behind the exit of longtime auto garage Car Tender from Capitol Hill will kick into gear this week as the development set to replace it brings its new, larger vision to the city’s design review process.

The seven-story development set for review Thursday is set for 1710 12th Ave E, on property formerly home to the Car Tender auto repair shop, Bergman’s Lock and Key and the former home of the Scratch Deli. The auto shop which became a center of private security activity during the Capitol Hill occupied protest, is relocating to Shoreline. The project set to replace it had started the design review process in November 2019, well before any of this summer’s events.

In its place, Hill residents will get a few hundred new neighbors. In plans from the Runberg Architecture Group, developer Mack Real Estate Group proposes a 170,000 square foot building with 145 apartments, including a mix of studio, and 1- and 2-bedroom units. It would include a total of 3,500 square feet of commercial use broken up into three spaces, one at the corner of 12th and Olive, and the other two along 12th.  There will also be 90 parking stalls. Amenities include a fitness center, co-working space, and a rooftop deck. Continue reading →

Seattle’s increasingly modest plans for new bike projects include seven across Capitol Hill, CD — UPDATE

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This page from the council presentation on the bike plan implementation update oddly includes an image of a Capitol Hill rider on perhaps the most un-pedal friendly in the neighborhood.

Seattle is criss-crossed by 1,547 lane-miles of arterial streets and 2,407 miles of non-arteries. In recent years, the city has added new bike infrastructure to only about 10 miles of those streets per year.

Tuesday afternoon, the Seattle City Council will begin the latest process to shake out the next five years of Seattle bike infrastructure investments. Following the relatively paltry output of the last couple years, the proposed plan includes projects that will likely add up to even less than 10 miles per year. But there are still some new improvements on the list for Capitol Hill, the Central District, and the nearby. Continue reading →

Police search for driver after pedestrian injured in E Thomas hit and run

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A pedestrian struck by a reported hit and run driver suffered a leg injury Monday around 4:15 PM at 18th and Thomas.

According to Seattle Police radio reports, the victim was hit in the street and moved to the curb by a passerby where they were treated for their injuries by Seattle Fire before being transported to the hospital with what was reported to be a leg fracture.

Police were looking for a red or maroon colored newer model jeep-type vehicle last seen southbound on 16th Ave.

The area where the collision took place is currently busy with construction to create pedestrian improvements along the Thomas and John corridor.

Work set to begin to make John/Thomas intersections safer from Capitol Hill Station to Miller Park

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After two years of citizen advocacy, a series of pedestrian-focused improvements is coming to the John/Thomas Street corridor with construction set to begin in early July .

David Seater, co leader of Central Seattle Greenways, began calling for the project two years ago. Seater said he walks along the corridor frequently, and finds it challenging to cross either of the streets, which tend to be high on traffic, and low on places to cross.

“I felt like it shouldn’t be that tough,” he said. Continue reading →

Joining big brands experimenting on Capitol Hill, AT&T plans new ‘retail/cafe’

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A North Texas AT&T store. Just add coffee on E Thomas? (Image: AT&T)

With an increasingly affluent, happy to spend, and culturally sophisticated population (not to mention good looking, generous supporters of local journalism!), Capitol Hill’s residents are a coveted core to Seattle’s population.

Big brands like to try new things here.

AT&T has been busy opening up its new “entertainment store” concept around the country — but this one lined up for Capitol Hill appears to be different. Continue reading →

Teen struck by driver near Capitol Hill’s Meany Middle School

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A teenager walking to school was hospitalized Monday morning after she was struck by a driver at 19th and Thomas.

Seattle Police and Seattle Fire responded to the collision just after 8 AM at the busy intersection near the newly reopened Meany Middle School. A woman sat in a white four-door sedan facing east in the eastbound lane of E Thomas as police gathered evidence at the scene. We’re waiting for an update from SPD for more on the investigation. UPDATE 2/27/18 10:30 AM: SPD tells us the official reports on the crash — as usual with collision reporting managed by the state — are not yet available but that it does not appear that the driver was impaired. There are also some good signs for the victim’s condition — police were able to clear the scene and wrap up the investigation quickly indicating her injuries were not serious.

Seattle Fire said the girl who was struck was transported to Harborview in stable condition.

The intersection remained open during the investigation but traffic was backed up in the area during the school drop-off rush hour.

CHS Re:Take | The 1892 problems at Harvard and Thomas

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When you are at the intersection of Harvard and Thomas and look around, it’s impossible to not be awed and a bit baffled by the utter lack of planning and engineering.

You probably have an intersection that confuses you or an intersection you hate. Leave a comment and we’ll see if we can console you with some sort of reasoning. Meanwhile, here’s one odd truth.

What’s wrong?

Harvard and Thomas… it’s one of a kind. As it heads south Harvard changes from a normal, comfortably cozy Capitol Hill residential street into a confusing mass of concrete with no clear use or direction. Continue reading →